121 (4.65 per match) A total of 34 teams signed up to participate in the 1950 World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 14 spots in the final tournament. Brazil , as the hosts, and Italy , as the defending champions, qualified automatically. Several countries withdrew from the World Cup for a variety of reasons. Argentina said "no" because of a problem with the Brazilian soccer federation. Germany (occupied and partitioned) and Japan (occupied) were not allowed to participate in the qualification rounds. Countries that were behind the Iron Curtain declined to participate, including the Soviet Union, Hungary (the finalist of 1938), and Czechoslovakia (the finalist of 1934). This was also the first time that the 4 teams from the UK (Scotland, England , Northern Ireland and Wales) decided to take part in the qualifying process, after 17 years of self-impose exile. They would play the British Home Championship as a qualifying group, with the top two teams qualifying. FIFA made a real effort to convince the teams from UK.

They offered the vice presidency of FIFA to an Scottish Football Association (SFA) member, a place on the executive to the UK associations, and two places for the winners and runners-up of the 1950 British International Championship in the World Cup finals. The 14 available spots were distributed in continental zones as shown below: • Europe (UEFA): 18 teams (including Israel and Syria) competed for 7 direct places. Italy , as the defending champions, qualified automatically. Austria and Belgium withdrew. Turkey qualified, but later withdrew. • South America (CONMEBOL): 7 teams competed for a 4 direct places. Brazil , as the host country, qualified automatically. Argentina (a dispute with the Brazilian Football Confederation), Ecuador and Peru (a dispute with FIFA and CONMEBOL) withdrew. Bolivia, Chile , Paraguay and Uruguay qualified by default without playing any match. • North America, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 3 teams competed for 2 spots. • Asia (AFC): 4 teams competed for 1 spot. Burma, the Philippines and Indonesia withdrew, so India qualified automatically. India qualified, but later withdrew.

A total of 19 teams played at least one qualifying match. 26 qualifying matches were played, and 121 goals were scored. The preliminary competition became something of a farce. Some teams qualified and then withdrew, others were invited and then decided not to take part. Originally, 16 teams qualified for the final stage that would be played in Brazil. However, three teams declined to participate and the tournament finally started with only 13 participants. Scotland, who had won the second place in the British Home Championship, decided to resign for having obtained the second place. George Graham, secretary of the SFA, had previously declared that the Scots would only go if they became British champions. Turkey also resigned citing financial problems. Finally, Peru also withdrew at the last minute, due to a dispute with FIFA and CONMEBOL. Three teams were invited to fill these three gaps: United States , Portugal and France . Portugal refused.

After the draw, India, that had qualified for the final stage in Brazil, decided not take part because in those days Indian footballers used to play barefoot, as they did in the Olympics in 1948, and from the 1950 World Cup it was compulsary to wear shoes. France was offered Turkey's spot and originally accepted, but then also withdrew citing the amount of travel that would be required in Group 4. External link: RSSSF 1950 FIFA World Cup Qualification Format and seedings The round-robin format used in the first World Cup was chosen again. The sixteen teams were divided into four groups and the winner of each of them would advance to the final round in which they would face in the round-robin format. The organizers wanted a format that ensured that teams will play at least three games, generating both more ticket revenue and more incentive mainly for teams that had to travel long distances to reach Brazil. The groups were arranged on a non-geographic basis, so for every game the teams had to travel long distances between venues.

One of the teams that had to travel a lot was the United States that had to play in Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and Recife, accumulating a lot of miles. The only criteria used to determine the winner of the group were the points. Thus, if two teams tied for first place, then a playoff would be necessary to determine the group winner. The four seeded teams were: Brazil (hosts), Italy (defending champions), Uruguay and England . Withdrawals meant there were two groups of four, one of three and one of two. Squads For a complete list of all squads that appeared in the 1950 FIFA World Cup, please, visit: 1950 World Cup squads Venues Six cities hosted the tournament. The Host Cities for the 1950 FIFA World Cup were Rio de Janeiro , São Paulo , Belo Horizonte, Recife , Porto Alegre , and Curitiba. 2 TOURNAMENT SUMMARY The first round had some facts worth noting. In Group A, there was no surprise. Brazil , just as planned, advanced to the final round. Spain topped Group B ahead of England , Chile , and United States . This group produced the greatest surprise of the tournament.

England came to the competition as one of the favourites. They never doubted that it was the best soccer nation in the world, especially considering that a Great Britain team recently had beaten the rest of Europe 6–1 in Glasgow, Scotland, in a game dubbed the “Match of the Century”. However, it was not to be. They suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to the United States in the northern industrial town of Belo Horizonte and were eliminated from the tournament after another loss to Spain . When news of the defeat against the United States came to England , people thought it was a misprint in the newspapers and the actual score of the game was 10-1. They began as one of the favourites but ended it in ignominy. A talented Sweden topped Group C after surprisingly beating the defending champions 3–2 in its opening match. Because of this defeat, Italy failed to progress to the second round. It must be said that the majority of its national team died in a tragic plane crash a year earlier, on May 4, 1949. Uruguay had no problems winning Group D, the only group with only two members. They thrashed Bolivia 8-0.

The star forward Juan Schiaffino grabbed four goals. Final round in Sao Paulo: Uruguay 3-2 Sweden Ademir in the decisive match against Uruguay The final four-team round robin involved Brazil , Spain , Sweden, and Uruguay , who were making their first World Cup appearance since winning the inaugural tournament. The World Cup winner would be the team that finished on top of this group. Brazil came from thrashing to Sweden by a resounding 7-1 and Spain by a crushing 6 to 1. The Brazilians should not have trouble beating their South American neighbour Uruguay . In the worst case, they only needed a draw and they would be crowned world champions. That's what all Brazilians thought. But what Brazilians thought is not what happened. The final and deciding match of the four-team final group was contested at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, before a crowd of 200,000 spectators, by Uruguay , who were making their first appearance after the first World Cup, and the hosts Brazil . The match was hard fought and was tied 1-1, but Ghiggia beat Bigode one more time and scored the winner 11 minutes from time to give Uruguay the second World Cup title.

Uruguay definitely stunned the crowd and crowned World Cup champion after beating the heavily-favoured Brazil 2-1. One of the biggest surprises in the World Cups history had occurred. For the whole of Brazil , it was a national disaster. After the negative result, that match is referred to as the Maracanazo, a name still used to show a defeat for a Brazilian team by foreign rivals at the famous stadium. It was the first and only time in World Cup history that the champion was not decided by a one-match final. Poker: Ademir ( Brazil ) • The youngest player was Carlos Ibañez from Chile : 18y (30 November 1931). The youngest goalkeeper was Antonio Carbajal from Mexico : 21y (07 June 1929). The youngest scorer was Kiki Antenen from Switzerland: 20y (3 November 1929). The youngest champion was Rubén Morán from Uruguay : 19y (6 August 1930). The youngest captain was Harry Keough from United States : 22y (15 November 1927).

• The oldest player was Stanley Matthews from England : 35y (1 February 1915). The oldest goalkeeper was Srdjan Mrkušić from Yugoslavia: 35y (26 May 1915). The oldest scorer was Obdulio Varela from Uruguay : 32y (20 September 1917). The oldest champion was also Obdulio Varela from Uruguay : 32y (20 September 1917). The oldest captain was Erik Nilsson from Sweden: 33y (6 August 1916). DID YOU KNOW? • The trophy that was given to the World Cup winners was named Victoria. In 1950, in order to pay homage to Jules Rimet who had been President of FIFA for 25 years and promoted the organization of the championship again after World War II, the trophy was first called Jules Rimet Cup, although it was subsequently referred to as the Jules Rimet Trophy.

• The Italian Ottorino Barassi, Vice President of FIFA in those years, hid the trophy in a shoebox under the bed in his house to avoid falling into the hands of the occupying army. • India, who had been invited by FIFA to participate in the final stage in Brazil, decided to give up, because FIFA did not accept them play in bare feet, as they did in the Olympics in 1948. • Italy , the defending champion, suffered the loss of most of their best players, who died in a plane crash, Superga air disaster, on 4 May 1949. The Torino team was returning to Italy after a match against Benfica in Portugal when the Fiat G.212, an Italian three-engine airliner, flew into a thunderstorm and crashed into the hill of Superga near Turin, killing all 31 aboard. • United States stunned the world by defeating the mighty English team 1 to 0. The Haitian-born Joe Gaetjens gave the victory to the USA . The British media, assuming that there was a typographical error in the information they received, changed the result to 10 to 1.

Unfortunately for England , the Kings of Football, there was no such misprint. • Joseph Gaetjens, the goal-scoring hero for the USA against England , returned to his native Haiti in 1954. A decade later, he was arrested by the country's secret police and is believed to have been killed - like thousands of other Haitians - by the death squad. 1950 fifa world cup : definition of 1950 fifa world cup and synonyms of 1950 fifa world cup (English) 1954 → The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup . It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II . It was won by Uruguay , who had won the inaugural competition in 1930 , clinching the cup by beating the hosts Brazil 2–1 in the deciding match of the four-team final group (this was the only tournament not decided by a one-match final).

It was also the first tournament where the trophy was referred to as the Jules Rimet Cup , to mark the 25th anniversary of Rimet 's presidency of FIFA. Contents Main article: FIFA World Cup hosts Because of World War II , the World Cup had not been staged since 1938 ; the planned World Cups of 1942 and 1946 were both cancelled. After the war, FIFA were keen to resurrect the competition as soon as possible, and they began making plans for a World Cup tournament to take place. In the aftermath of the war, much of Europe lay in ruins. As a result, FIFA had some difficulties finding a country interested in hosting the event, since many governments believed that their scarce resources ought to be devoted to more urgent priorities than a sporting celebration. The World Cup was at risk of not being held for sheer lack of interest from the international community, until Brazil presented a bid at the 1946 FIFA Congress, offering to host the event on condition that the tournament take place in 1950 (it was originally planned to take place in 1949).

[1] Brazil and Germany had been the leading bidders to host the cancelled 1942 World Cup ; since both the 1934 and 1938 tournaments had been held in Europe, football historians generally agree that the 1942 event would most likely have been awarded to a South American host country. Brazil's new bid was very similar to the mooted 1942 bid and was quickly accepted. Qualification Main article: 1950 FIFA World Cup qualification Having secured a host nation, FIFA would still dedicate some time to persuading countries to send their national teams to compete. Italy was of particular interest: the Italians were the long-standing defending champions (winners in 1934 and 1938). However, Italy's national team was weakened severely as most of its starting lineup perished in the Superga air disaster one year before the start of the tournament. The Italians were eventually persuaded to attend, but traveled by boat rather than by plane. [2] Because Brazil and Italy qualified automatically, there were fourteen remaining places available. Of these, seven were allocated to Europe, six to the Americas, and one to Asia.

Banned teams Both Germany (still occupied and partitioned) and Japan (still occupied) had not been permitted to compete for qualification. Italy and Austria , on the other hand, were not subject to international sanctions, and Italy qualified automatically as defending champions. The French-occupied Saarland had been accepted by FIFA two weeks before the World Cup, several months before the German Football Association (DFB) was reinstated, while Soviet-occupied East Germany had not yet founded a football association. British nations Participating countries after 3 of the 16 qualifying countries withdrew. The British nations were invited to take part, having rejoined FIFA four years earlier, after 17 years of self-imposed exile. It was decided to use the 1949-1950 British Home Championship as a qualifying group, with the top two teams qualifying. England finished first and Scotland second. Withdrawals before qualification A number of teams refused to participate in the qualifying tournament, including most nations behind the Iron Curtain , such as the USSR, 1938 finalists Hungary and 1934 finalists Czechoslovakia.

[2] Withdrawals during qualification Argentina, Ecuador and Peru in South America withdrew after the qualifying draw (in Argentina's case because of a dispute with the Brazilian Football Association). This meant that Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay qualified from South America by default. [2] In Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Burma all withdrew, leaving India to qualify by default. In Europe, Austria withdrew, claiming its team was too inexperienced. [2] Belgium also withdrew from the qualification tournament. [2] These withdrawals meant that Switzerland and Turkey qualified without having to play their final round of matches. Withdrawals after qualification Before the qualification competition, George Graham, chairman of the Scottish Football Association (SFA), had said that Scotland would only travel to Brazil as winners of the Home Championship. [3] (England, by contrast, had committed to attending, even if they finished in second place). [3] After Scotland ended up in second place behind England, the Scottish captain George Young , encouraged by England captain Billy Wright , pleaded with the SFA to change its mind and accept the place in Brazil: however Graham refused to change his position and so Scotland withdrew from the tournament. [3] Turkey also withdrew, citing financial problems and the cost of travelling to South America.

[4] FIFA invited Portugal and France, who had both been eliminated in qualifying, to fill the gaps left by Scotland and Turkey. Portugal refused, but France initially accepted, and was entered into the draw Draw and subsequent withdrawals The draw, held in Rio on 22 May 1950, allocated the fifteen remaining teams into four groups: [5] Group 1: Brazil, Mexico, Switzerland and Yugoslavia Group 2: England, Chile, Spain and the USA Group 3: Italy, India, Paraguay and Sweden Group 4: Uruguay, Bolivia and France After the draw, the Indian football association AIFF decided against going to the World Cup, citing travel costs (although FIFA had agreed to bear a major part of the travel expenses), [6] lack of practice time, team selection issues and valuing the Olympics over the FIFA World cup. [7] Although FIFA had imposed a rule banning barefoot play following the 1948 Olympics [8] [9] where India had played barefoot, the then Indian captain Shailen Manna claims that this was just a story to cover up the real reasons for the AIFF's decision.

[6] France also withdrew, citing the amount of travel that would be required in Group 4. There was not enough time to invite further replacement teams or to reorganize the groups, so the tournament featured only thirteen teams, with just two nations in Group 4. Of the thirteen teams that competed, only one, England, was making its debut. Several of the South and Central American teams were competing for the first time since the inaugural 1930 tournament—this included undefeated Uruguay, as well as Mexico, Chile, Paraguay and Bolivia. Yugoslavia was also making its first appearance since 1930. This would be the USA's last appearance at the World Cup finals until 1990, and Bolivia's last until 1994. Format The Brazilian organizers of the tournament proposed a new format in which the 16 teams were divided into four first round groups (or "pools" as they were then called) of four teams, with the four group winners advancing to a final group stage, playing in round-robin format to determine the winner. The main reason for this choice was money: the organizers had spent a great deal on stadium and infrastructure investment.

A straight knockout tournament, as had been used in 1934 and 1938, would feature only sixteen games (including the third-place playoff), while the proposed two-group format would guarantee thirty games, and thus more ticket revenue. [10] In addition, this format would guarantee each team at least three games, and thus provide more incentive for European teams to make the journey to South America and compete. [10] FIFA originally resisted this proposal, but backed down after Brazil threatened to back out of hosting the tournament if this format was not used. [10] In each group teams were awarded 2 points for a win an 1 point for a draw. There was no method for separating teams equal on points: if there was a tie for first place in a group, then a playoff would be held to determine the group winner. [11] The entire tournament was arranged in such a way that the four first round groups had no geographical basis. Hence, several teams were obliged to cover large distances to complete their program, although Brazil was allowed to play two of its three group matches in Rio de Janeiro while its other game was in (comparatively) nearby São Paulo .

Summary A combined Great Britain team had recently beaten the rest of Europe 6-1 in an exhibition match and England went into the competition as one of the favourites. However, it was not to be, as they went crashing out on 29 June in a shock 1-0 defeat by the United States (when the score appeared in English newspapers, many thought it was a misprint) which, combined with their 1-0 defeat by Spain , led to England being eliminated. Italy, the defending champions, lost their unbeaten record at the World Cup finals when the team was defeated 3-2 by Sweden in its opening match. Because of this defeat, Italy failed to progress to the second round. The final group stage involved the teams who won their groups: Brazil, Spain, Sweden , and 1930 FIFA World Cup champions Uruguay , who were making their first World Cup appearance since winning the inaugural tournament. The World Cup winner would be the team that managed to finish on top of this group. The final group's six matches were shared between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

Brazil played all its final group matches at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio while the games that didn't involve the host nation were played in São Paulo. Brazil won their first two matches with a 7-1 thrashing of Sweden and 6-1 rout of Spain. Before the decisive match, Brazil was sitting on top of the final group and had one game left to play against Uruguay, in second and only a point behind. On July 16, before a huge home crowd of 199,954 (some estimated as 205,000) in the Estádio do Maracanã, the host nation only had to draw against Uruguay and the trophy would be theirs. After such crushing victories over Spain and Sweden, it looked certain they would take the title, especially as the home nation went ahead in the second minute of the second half, thanks to a goal from Friaça . However, Uruguay equalised and then with just over 11 minutes left to play, went ahead 2-1 when Alcides Ghiggia squeaked a goal past Moacyr Barbosa , and Uruguay was crowned World Cup champions for a second time.

This stunning defeat surprised Brazil and is referred to as the Maracanazo . The average attendance of nearly 61,000 per game, aided greatly by eight matches (including five featuring hosts Brazil) held in the newly-built Maracanã, set a record that would not be broken until 1994 . Not counting the Maracanã matches, the average attendance was a still-impressive 37,500. However, the only venues that saw crowds comparable to or greater than those in recent World Cups were the Maracanã and São Paulo. Other venues saw considerably smaller crowds. Venues 208 (3.64 per match) A total of 39 teams signed up to participate in the 1954 World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 14 spots in the final tournament. Switzerland, as the hosts, and Uruguay , as the defending champions, qualified automatically. This was the first time that a qualifying process took place in Asia and South America. In the previous championships Asian and South American teams had participated by invitation or by the removal of other teams.

German teams were allowed to qualify again, after having been banned from the 1950 FIFA World Cup. West Germany qualified while East Germany did not enter. Argentina declined to participate for the third World Cup in succession. The 14 available spots were distributed in continental zones as shown below: • Europe (UEFA): 27 teams (including Turkey, Israel and Egypt) competed for 11 direct places. Switzerland, as host country, qualified automatically. Poland withdrew, so Hungary qualified without playing any match • South America (CONMEBOL): 4 teams competed for a 1 direct place. Uruguay , as defending champion, qualified automatically. Peru withdrew. • External link: RSSSF 1954 FIFA World Cup Qualification Format and seedings The format of the competition changed from 1950. It adopted an unusual new format. The sixteen teams were divided in four groups of four teams each, two seeded teams and two unseeded teams. Instead of playing with the round-robin format, each seeded team hat to play with the other two unseeded teams. Therefore, the teams had to play just two matches per group rather than the usual three.

Only 4 matches were scheduled for each group. Incredibly, there was not to be draws in the first round. All matches level after 90 minutes went to extra-time. Only if the scores were still tied after 120 minutes were they deemed drawn. The best two teams of each group would advance to the knockout stage. If the top two from each group were equal in points, lots would be drawn to decide which team would be the top of the group. However, if the second and third placed teams were equals on points, they would require a playoff to decide which team would progress to the following stage. A further unusual feature of the format was that the four group-winning teams will be drawn against each other in the knockout stages to produce one finalist, and the four second-placed teams will play against each other to produce the second finalist. If a knockout match was tied after ninety minutes, then thirty minutes of extra time would be added. If the score had still tied after extra time, lots would have been drawn to decide which team advanced. On the other hand, if the final had been tied after extra time, it would have been replayed, with lots deciding the World Champion only if the replay was also tied after extra time.

It was not necessary. The eight seeded teams were determined based on the global ranking of those times: Austria, Brazil , England , France , Hungary, Italy , Turkey and Uruguay . As Turkey eliminated Spain in qualification, FIFA in a highly controversial decision gave Turkey the seeding that had previously been allocated to Spain . Squads For a complete list of all squads that appeared in the 1954 FIFA World Cup, please, visit: 1954 World Cup squads Venues Six cities hosted the tournament. The Host Cities for the 1954 FIFA World Cup were Bern , Lausanne , Basel , Zürich , Lugano and Geneva . 1 TOURNAMENT SUMMARY The first round had some facts worth noting. In Group A, Brazil and Yugoslavia with three points each progressed to the knockout stage. As expected, a talented Hungary with two tremendous thrashings (Hungary 9-0 South Korea , Hungary 8-3 West Germany ) topped Group B ahead of West Germany and Turkey. Sandor Kocsis, the legendary centre-forward, scored 7 goals in two games.

Ferenc Puskás, Hungary's team captain, considered by many as the best player of the world, was injured by West German defender Werner Liebrich, and had to miss the following matches of his team, only to show up in the final again, still being in a questionable condition. West Germany had to play off against Turkey after the two teams were equal on points. The Germans embarrassed the Turks 7-0. Uruguay and Austria without any kind of problems topped the Group C and advanced to the quarter-finals. England had no problems winning Group D ahead of Switzerland and Italy . Switzerland had to play off against Italy , a match that they easily won. In the quarter-finals, Austria defeated the host nation Switzerland in the game that saw the most goals in any World Cup match, 7–5. Despite going 3-0 up, the Swiss were beaten 7-5 by Austria. Uruguay , meanwhile, dispatched England 4–2. One day later, the favourites Hungary knocked out Brazil 4–2 in one of the most violent matches ever, which became known as the infamous “Battle of Berne”. Three players got sent off and the fighting continued also after the final whistle according to several observers.

West Germany , meanwhile, beat Yugoslavia 2–0. The Swiss and Austrian national teams Hungary team In the semi-finals, West Germany demolished Austria 6–1 earning its first World Cup final berth, while Hungary, in one of the most exciting games of the tournament and regarded to be one of the best ever in a World Cup, defeated Uruguay 4-2 after extra time. The match was tied 2-2 after 90 minutes. But Hungary's added class showed in the extra period and Sandor Kocsis scored twice that were enough to put Hungary in its second final. Uruguay finally losing their unbeaten record in World Cup Final matches. So far, Uruguay had participated in two World Cups and won both. The third place match saw the victory of Austria over Uruguay 3-1. The 1954 FIFA World Cup Final was contested at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern at 16.45 on 4 July 1954, before a crowd of 64,000, by the pre-tournament favourite, Hungary, with Sándor Kocsis and Ferenc Puskás, the Galloping Major, and West Germany, a repeat of the first-round match.

Never has there been another football match with so many legends and stories attached to this final match between West Germany and Hungary. The wet conditions were not ideal for football and the West German team captain Fritz Walter appeared to play better the worse the weather was. The Germans defeated Hungary 3 to 2, to win their first World Cup title in one of the best and finest final the world have seen. The first few minutes gave the Hungarians' added cause for optimism: the “Magical Magyar” led 2-0 after only 8 minutes. However, the spirit of the German team remained intact. Germans recovered from 0-2 down to record a 3-2 victory over the Hungarians. Hungary had blown their best ever chance to win the title. The match is remembered as The Miracle of Bern, since Hungary was considered the best team of the world and the overwhelming favourites to hoist the World Cup. This was also the first time an unseeded team wins the World Cup. Hungary had an astonishing record of 5 years and 32 consecutive matches without being defeated.

Hungary had beaten England 6-3 at Wembley Stadium a year earlier in one of the most famous contests –It was the first time a team outside the British Islands defeated England at home-, and were the reigning Olympic Champions. “Their speed, ball control and positional play were as near perfect as one could hope to see,” wrote The Guardian after England’s 6-3 home humbling in 1953. In the group stage, Hungary had beaten Germany by a convincing 8-3, although Germany played with seven alternates. These are the main reasons why the results surprised everyone. It should be noted that Ferenc Puskás, the best player in the world of those times, had been injured by the German defender Werner Liebrich when the teams last met. Puskás did not play the following games and only appeared “on one leg” in the final; but he was a shadow of his usual self. Many say that this was the kick that really won the world cup. Brian Glanville in his book, The Story of the World Cup, says that: “Puskás, clearly hampered by his ankle, was unwontedly heavy and slow”.

For the Hungarians definitely was a disaster and remain controversial due to the Puskas' goal disallowed for offside with two minutes remaining and the claim of doping. The Hungarians were surprised by the better physical condition of the Germans in the second half. A research conducted by Guido Knopp in 2004 for German public channel ZDF says that the players were injected with shots of vitamin C at half-time, which would also explain the wave of jaundice among team members following the tournament [1]. Another study from Leipzig University in 2010 stated that the West German players had been injected with the banned substance methamphetamine. Interesting facts • Milestone goals. The goal number 400 in the World Cups history was scored by Max Morlock from West Germany in Zürich on 23 June 1954. Morlock scored the 6-1. West Germany defeated Turkey 7-2. • This was the first time that a team had won the World Cup after losing a match in the Finals (Hungary defeated West Germany 8-3 in the group stage). • West Germany scored 25 goals and received only just 14 goals.

Both are all-time record for a World Cup winner. • West Germany scored the most goals scored per game for a champion (4.17), a record that still remains. • Poker: Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) • The youngest player was Coşkun Taş from Turkey: 19y (23 April 1935). The youngest goalkeeper was Şükrü Ersoy from Turkey: 20y (14 January 1934). The youngest scorer was Miloš Milutinović from Yugoslavia: 21y (5 February 1933). The youngest champion was Horst Eckel from West Germany : 22y (8 February 1932). The youngest captain was Turgay Şeren from Turkey: 22y (15 May 1932). • The oldest player was Stanley Mattews from England : 39y (1 February 1915). The oldest goalkeeper was Roque Máspoli from Uruguay : 36y (12 October 1917).

The oldest scorer was Obdulio Varela from Uruguay : 36y (20 September 1917). The oldest champion was Toni Turek from West Germany : 35y (18 January 1919). The oldest captain was also Obdulio Varela from Uruguay : 36y (20 September 1917). Teams that contributed players for national teams The most important teams that contributed players to the national teams are shown in the table below. The complete list is available at: Teams-Countries-Players-1954 DID YOU KNOW? • Ferenc Puskás, Hungary's team captain, the Galloping Major, considered by many as the best player in the world in that time, was injured by German defender Liebrich, and had to miss the next two matches of his team. Puskás reappeared only in the final against Germany. Though not fully fit, Puskás opened the scoring. • Ferenc Puskás was born as Ferenc Purczeld in Budapest. However, his father changed the family surname to Puskás when he was ten years old.

Puskás became Olympic champion in 1952, was a World Cup finalist in 1954, won three European Championships, and won four Pichichis while playing with Real Madrid. • There were many controversies in the final match, all of them favoring the German team. There was a clear foul on the Hungarian goalkeeper Gyula Grosics in the second German goal. Another controversy was the offside ruling for Puskás in the minute 87, who had an excellent scoring opportunity. In the final minute, the Hungarian team reclaimed a foul on Kocsis in the penalty area. However, the mother of all disputes concerns the doping charge of the German team. The Hungarians were surprised by the better physical condition of the Germans in the second half. A research conducted by Guido Knopp in 2004 for German public channel ZDF says that the players were injected with shots of vitamin C at half-time, which would also explain the wave of jaundice among team members following the tournament. Another study from Leipzig University in 2010 stated that the West German players had been injected with the banned substance methamphetamine.

• Fritz and Ottmar Walter from West Germany became the first brothers in a winning World Cup side. In the semifinals, they had become the first brothers to score in the same World Cup game. • The German team were amateurs as there was no professional league there at the time. • The football world would learn a lesson that is repeated countless times: never, ever, given up for lost the Germans. • Hungary's Ferenc Puskas and Uruguay's Jose Santamaria both played for Spain at the 1962 World Cup in Chile. World Cup 1954 poster Card autographed by coach Sepp Herberger and the 11 German players that appeared in the final Germany embraces the world champions Last updated: 24 October 2015 Copyright © 2012-2016 THEFIFAWORLDCUPS . All rights reserved. This is an unofficial website no connected or associated in any way with FIFA. FIFA World Cup – Page 10 – FOOTBALL FASHION.ORG By Football Fashion Staff May 18, 2010 Mexico soccer fans worldwide are the midst of FIFA World Cup 2010 fever as their beloved...

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By Football Fashion Staff April 20, 2010 Johannesburg / Herzogenaurach, April 20th, 2010 — Today in Herzogenaurach, Germany, adidas proudly unveils the Official... By Football Fashion Staff April 14, 2010 As anticipation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa mounts, PUMA has released the... By Football Fashion Staff April 7, 2010 The Brazil Nike World Cup 2010 home, away and third kits have been out since February.... By Football Fashion Staff April 5, 2010 Slovakia is currently in the midst of World Cup fever following their qualification for this summer’s... By Football Fashion Staff March 25, 2010 Following the recent release of the USA World Cup 2010 away jersey and the much-anticipated USA... Walt Bahr: A Soccer Playing and Coaching Legend Nomination Information By Tim Schum Walt Bahr is one of the most iconic figures in American soccer. He is perhaps best known as the long-time captain of the U.S.

National Team and a top defender in what is considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history: when the U.S. defeated England 1-0 in the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Bahr also made a name for himself on the sidelines as a coach, leading teams and players at all levels of the game. More notably, he became coach at Temple (his alma mater), succeeding his former coach Pete Leaness (and NSCAA Hall of Fame inductee) who had died in 1970. The Temple position lasted until 1973. Among the Temple players he coached who would enter the coaching profession, Bahr cited John Boles (Temple), Lew Meehl (Drexel), Larry Sullivan (Villanova), Billy Snyder (Frankford H.S.) and Bob Peffle (LaSalle). Following Temple, his longest coaching stint was at Penn State. In 1974 Bahr was offered the men’s soccer position and he would remain in charge of the Nittany Lion program until 1988. During his tenure, he would guide his team to 12 NCAA Division I Tournament appearances.

Ever ready to offer his opinions on a wide range of soccer matters, Bahr had an interesting angle on NCAA Tournament play as presently constituted. “Let’s have all teams at the various divisional levels be involved in the tournaments. Cut a couple of regular season games off the schedule. Make it an invitational tournament. Think about it. If there are say, 128 teams invited. One round of the schedule would eliminate 64 teams! “Now the rest play it down to the Final Four. Everyone has a chance for the title. Nobody is left out by some committee’s arbitrary decisions. Nobody is left with a sour taste in their mouth.” In terms of player recruitment, Bahr stated that he did it “99 percent by phone.” Through his many years in the game and his outgoing and understated personality, he had developed an extensive soccer network and Bahr utilized word-of-mouth to identify playing prospects. “I guess I trusted my friends in the game and when I learned of a player from a certain region, I would call a someone in that area and ask a simple question: ‘Can he play?’ I guess my friends all understood what I meant!

I think over my time at Penn State I only got ‘burned’ two or three times by my buddies recommending players.” He was also easy on Penn State’s recruiting budget for soccer. “I think I only took three prospects out for a restaurant dinner. We didn’t get any of them!” Related to his recruiting methodology, Bahr never left a stone unturned on campus. “We had a lot of foreign students at Penn State. Many would end up playing on a club team or in intramurals. I always took a look at that play as well. From time-to-time we’d come up with someone who could play.” Bahr was no stranger to also tapping into his foreign contacts in recruiting. Friend Graham Ramsey was acquainted with eventual Penn Stater Duncan MacEwan’s father. The dad was a former Aston Villa professional and looking for the “right fit” for his son. When Ramsey mentioned that Walter Bahr was coaching at Penn State the deal was finalized. In terms of other coaching principles he lived by, Bahr shared: “I rarely recruited backs.

I felt that it was always easier to move a player back than to move him forward.” He cited as examples Dan Cantor (recruited as a midfielder but played at center back), Lou Karbiener (recruited as a wing but played at center back), Troy Snyder (also recruited as an outside striker and performed at midfield for Penn State). All were NSCAA All-American and eventually became part of the U.S. National Team program. “I constantly reinforced the playing principal—If not sure, play the way you are facing!” I liked to imprint our style of play by having 11 players play what I termed ‘dry run soccer.’ We’d move the ball around the field without opposition and talk to the players about options they might have relative to other players around them or away from them. I guess they call it ‘shadow play’ nowadays. We did a lot of that 10-15 minutes a day.” “I rarely talked to the team following a game. I would simply remind them of the next practice and let it go at that. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, you might say things to the team that were damaging.

Better to sit on things for a few hours, review them in your mind, and then plan for how to address matters in later practices. We didn’t do a lot of video-taping or filming of the games so I would try to review things based on my observations.” “I think, depending on the day, that you have to have a ‘feel’ for what is the best practice session.” He recalled being exposed to Dettmar Cramer’s coaching methodology when he was invited to a weekend clinic for then-NASL coaches in 1967. “I came back from that and began to lay out my practices according to what I learned there. Many times I never got past my first phase of the practice. I had to admit that what I had planned wasn’t going over well with the players. I went back to my coaching instincts and that seemed to work well for me.” What is apparent is that Bahr, through his career, has examined the game of soccer and with identified its essentials in terms of both its play and its coaching methodology. What he has determined is that simplicity is to be preferred over complex and, generally less, many times is better than more.

“I think that you, as a coach, have to recognize that sometimes ‘less if more.’ Players and teams need time to regenerate. Players will sometimes benefit more from a day off and again, you as the coach, have to determine that.” Bahr’s overall collegiate coaching record is 448-137-70. He was named NSCAA Coach of the Year in 1979, presented the NSCAA Honor Award in 1986, and was inducted into the NSCAA Hall of Fame in 1995. His nearly 40-year coaching career included 17 years at the secondary school level (at his old neighborhood Frankford High School) as well as coach of the Philadelphia Spartans and the Philadelphia Ukrainians immediately after retiring as a player. During his six-year tenure with the Ukrainians, he led the club to one American Soccer League (ASL) championship and two appearances in the semifinals. At the end of his coaching career, the U.S. Soccer Federation wisely utilized Bahr’s combination of a warm, welcoming personality and his international soccer reputation by appointing him to head its delegations to various football competitions.

His career as Head of Delegation included accompanying the men’s national team to Russia, Hungary and Poland, as well as to Italy for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. In terms of the U.S. Men’s National Team’s play during the late 1980s and at the 1990 World Cup, Bahr summarized, “we did see a lot of progress taking place. But we were rarely able to outplay our opponents and had to rely on a well-organized defense in order to remain competitive.” Bahr also accompanied Anson Dorrance and the U.S. Women’s National Team to China in 1988 when FIFA staged a women’s world championship. “They [FIFA] were trying to figure out if a FIFA World Cup would be a worthwhile event. The large crowds and the competitiveness of the women’s teams convinced them to move forward with the World Cup format for women. I liked what I saw in terms of how our women played. Michele Akers was great and Mia Hamm, 15 at the time, was a very promising player.” Bahr stated that he was particularly impressed with the women’s play. “They did not rely on physical force.

Rather they played my kind of soccer, ‘thinking soccer.’” Bahr was born in 1927 and is a Philadelphia native through and through. His love affair with soccer started at the age of 10 and had its roots at the Lighthouse Boys Club (LBC) in the Kensington section of the City of Brotherly Love. And whatever success he has enjoyed, the man acknowledges the role of his baptism to the game at the LBC. It was there that Walter Bahr developed his life-long love affair with soccer. Walter Bahr is thought by many to have been one of our country’s finest early players and he would also contribute mightily to the progress of the sport through a long and distinguished coaching career. As NSCAA celebrates its 75th anniversary it seems fitting to revisit the highlights of his life in soccer as well as capture some of the coaching lessons he learned both on our country’s playing field and sidelines. As a Red Apron, Bahr annually regaled Convention attendees with shared stories of soccer days past. Due to illness, he has not able to attend the recent NSCAA Conventions.

Most of what stands for the Bahr legacy was captured at an interview conducted at the 2009 NSCAA Convention in St. Louis by Schum. World Cup 1950 in Brazil - World Cup Brazil 2014 Guide World Cup Brazil 2014 Guide Join the World Cup Experience Primary menu Date: 24 June – 16 July Final: Uruguay – Brazil 2-1 3rd place: Sweden – Spain 3-1 Teams: 13 Top scorer: Ademir (Brazil) (8 goals) World Cup 1950 Background Originally, the 4th World Cup was to take place in the year 1942. However due to the Second War II outbreak, both the 1942 and 1946 World Cups were cancelled. The 4th World Cup was postponed and was eventually held in 1950. After World War II, FIFA wanted to continue the tradition of a World Cup and was quickly trying to find a country to host this event in 1949. Many European countries were still in ruins and were far from properly re-established and rebuilt.

Therefore they weren’t much interested in hosting a World Cup and preferred to focus their resources on more important priorities. The chances were becoming slim to find a country that was willing to host the 4th World Cup. There was 1 country Brazil which offered to host the next World Cup as long as it would be held in 1950 and not in 1949. It was also Brazil which showed interested in hosting the 1942 World Cup before World War II. FIFA agreed, and on July 26 1946 in Luxembourg City they announced that the 4th World Cup would be held in Brazil, in the year 1950. 6 host cities, with Recife being the most far away World Cup 1950 Participants FIFA was persuading many countries to participate in the 1950 World Cup qualifications. A total of 34 countries participated in the qualifications. But not all of the countries who used to participate before in a World Cup, entered the qualification rounds. Of the in total 16 participants, Italy qualified automatically since they were the champions of the previous World Cup. Brazil qualified automatically since they were the 1950 World Cup host.

Both Germany and Japan which were still occupied due to the war were banned from the qualifications. Other countries which refused to qualify for the World Cup were countries behind the Iron Curtain: USSR, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The Italian team was severely weakened due to the fatal Superga air disaster in Turin in 1949. This event killed among others the entire Torino A.C. football team which included 8 regular Italian national team players. However FIFA was able to persuade them to participate and to defend their World Cup title (Italy won the 1934 and 1938 World Cups). Italy did decide though to travel by boat rather than by plane. Of the European countries, Austria withdrew because it thought the team was too inexperienced, and Belgium as well. This meant Switzerland and Turkey qualified automatically. Even after the qualifications were finished, there were countries that have withdrawn from participating in the 1950 World Cup. Scotland is one of them. The chairman of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) stated they would only travel to Brazil if they would make it to the first place in the British Home Championship. This Championship was considered as a qualifying group.

Scotland at the end ‘only’ made it to the 2nd place behind England what was still enough to have qualified. But the chairman kept his word and withdrew the Scottish team from the World Cup. Turkey also withdrew due to financial issues regarding the trip to Brazil. This resulted in FIFA inviting France and Portugal (both eliminated in the qualifications rounds) to fill up the empty spots. Portugal refused and France initially accepted. After the pools were announced, there were countries again which withdrew from the 1950 World Cup. France changed their mind since according to them, all that travelling to host cities as a pool 4 country was too much of a hassle. A match had to be played in Recife which was the city most far away from the other 5 host cities. The trip would simply take too much time according to France. So forgetting the countries which withdrew, how many countries did participate? In total 13 countries. 5 places for Europe excluding Italy were allocated to the following countries: Sweden, Spain, Yugoslavia, England and Switzerland. England finally qualified for the first time. This is also the first time Yugoslavia played as Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and would continue to do so till the 1990 World Cup.

Although football was invented in England, it took 20 years since the first World Cup before England finally participated. England missed previous World Cups since they had a bad relationship with FIFA. Both parties couldn’t agree about the definition of an amateur player and whether they should be paid or not. The British Football Association had their own system and didn’t like FIFA’s interference and way of administering payments. England rejoined FIFA only in 1946 after leaving the organisation in 1928. 4 places for South America excluding Brazil were allocated to the following countries: Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. All 4 countries qualified automatically without having played any matches. This because Argentina, Ecuador and Peru withdrew from the qualifications. Argentina had a dispute with the Brazilian Football Association and decided not to qualify. 2 places for North/Central America and Caribbean were allocated to the following countries: United States and Mexico. Of the Asian countries Philippines, Indonesia and Burma withdrew. This meant country India was automatically qualified. India however was another country which withdrew from the tournament due to team selection issues, lack of practice and travelling costs. India also favoured the Olympic Games and didn’t see great importance in a World Cup.

Another reason India supposedly did not participate in the 1950 World Cup is because they were not allowed by FIFA to play barefoot. It has been said however this reason has been invented in order to cover up the real reasons why India didn’t participate, such as lack of importance of a World Cup and focus on the Olympics. This was the last World Cup which contained less than 16 teams. 1950 World Cup match ball “Superball Duplo T” – First ball to have a valve World Cup 1950 Pools Since originally 16 countries were planned to participate, the Brazilian organizers came up with the idea of creating 4 pools with each 4 teams. The teams would then play all the other teams in the same pool. This is the round-robin format which was used for the last time in the 1930 World Cup. 1 point would be rewarded for a draw and 2 points for a win. The winner of each pool would advance to the Final Round. If teams had equal points for the first place in a pool, a play-off had to be played. The aspect which was unique about the Brazilian organizers’ ideas was the Final Round.

The organizers introduced the mini league (round-robin) tournament format in the Final round as well. This means that in the Final Round, the 4 countries had to play all the other countries in this round. In other words, there was no real Final, the 1950 World Cup champion would be the country who gained the most points. The match for the third place was therefore excluded for the last time as well. The reason for such a format is the fact that in total 30 matches would be played rather than merely 16 matches. 16 matches would have been played if the World Cup would be a straight knockout tournament such as in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups. 30 matches meant more ticket revenue coming in which compensates for the high investments made in the stadiums and infrastructure. In addition to these reasons, each participating country had to play at least 3 matches which was an incentive to make the (long) trip to Brazil. FIFA originally did not want to accept this format, but since Brazil threatened to not host the 1950 World Cup, FIFA had to accept.

After all, FIFA had a hard time finding a host country for the first World Cup after World War II. Since ultimately only 13 countries participated, a total of 22 matches have been played and not 30. Uruguay was lucky to only have played 1 match in pool 4. The 4 seed countries were Brazil, England, Italy and Uruguay. They were kept apart from each other and were placed in different pools. The pools were as followed: Pool 1 World Cup 1950 Memorable Matches Pool Matches Brazil – Yugoslavia 2-0 Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro – attendance: 142,000 Since Brazil against Switzerland ended in a draw, Brazil had to win the match against Yugoslavia. Brazilian player Ademir didn’t wait long for the first goal to be scored. It took him 4 minutes after the kick-off. Zizinho scored the 2nd goal in the 2nd half. Brazil was kind off lucky though. Yugoslav player Rajko Mitic hurt his head badly since he hit a metal lid. This happened while walking up the stairs to the pitch for the kick-off. However, the referee refused to delay the match.

Therefore Yugoslavia kicked off with 10 men and Ademir scored while Rajko Mitic was receiving treatment for 20 minutes. Due to this win, Brazil was now to play the infamous Final Round of the 1950 World Cup. Pool 2 USA – England 1-0 (Miracle on Grass) Estádio Independência, Belo Horizonte – attendance: 10,000 England finally participated in a World Cup. Since the football sport was invented in their country, many professional football players were established. England had a post war record win of 23 matches and 4 losses and have beaten strong teams such as Italy and Portugal before playing their first World Cup. Players from USA were amateurs and part time football players. They had a job aside playing football such as teaching or washing dishes. They were gathered quickly and have trained only once together. There was a 1-3 chance England would win the World Cup and for USA a 500-1 chance. But surprisingly, it was USA that won this legendary pool match. Against all odds it was American center forward Joe Gaetjens who scored the first and only goal of the match.

The score of 1-0 is 1 of the greatest upset in World Cup history. Some British newspapers reported a score of 1-10 for England, since the editors thought the score of 1-0 against USA was a typing mistake made by the reporter. Although USA defeated England, it was Spain which advanced to the Final Round. Pool 3 Sweden – Italy 3-2 Estádio do Pacaembu, São Paulo – attendance: 36,000 This is the first match Italy has lost in World Cup history. Italy didn’t participate in the first World Cup in 1930, and won both the 1934 and 1938 World Cups. A factor that highly contributed to this defeat was the Superga air disaster, which severely weakened the Italian team. It was Sweden which was the first country to defeat Italy. Hasse Jeppson (2x) and Sune Andersson were the goalscorers. Italian striker Riccardo Carapellese scored the first goal of the match and Ermes Muccinelli the last goal of the match. But this wasn’t enough. Sweden ended up advancing to the Final Round.

Pool 4 Uruguay – Bolivia 8-0 Estádio Independência, Belo Horizonte – attendance: 6,000 Since France withdrew, Both Uruguay and Bolivia had to play 1 match in the first round. Within 20 minutes it was already clear which team would advance to the Final Round. Bolivia was crushed by Uruguay. 8 goals were scored in total. Striker Óscar Míguez scored a hat-trick. Other Uruguayan players who scored were Ernesto Vidal, Juan Alberto Schiaffino, Julio Pérez and Alcides Ghiggia. Bolivia didn’t make it to the 2nd round again as has happened in 1930. In their last World Cup participation so far in 1994, they would suffer the same fate. Final Round Brazil – Sweden 7-1 Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro – attendance: 139,000 This was 1 of the matches that showed why whole of Brazil showed so much confidence in the Brazilian team.

Although Sweden was responsible for Italy’s first World Cup defeat in the first round, Brazil was determined to top the pool and win the World Cup with an impressive goal amount. Brazilian striker Ademir was playing determinedly and scored 4 goals in total. Players Chico scored 2 goals and Maneca 1 goal. Sune Andersson scored a penalty for Sweden. Brazil would win the next match against Spain with an impressive amount as well: 6-1. Ademir became the 1950 World Cup top scorer with 8 goals in total. World Cup 1950 Final Since France withdrew from the World Cup, Uruguay only had to play 1 match before entering the Final round with Brazil, Spain and Sweden. Brazil played 3 matches before entering the Final round and only drew against Switzerland with a 2-2 score. This was the first time Uruguay and Brazil had to play against each other in a World Cup. During the Final Round, it was obvious Brazil would be able to ‘easily’ win the World Cup. With a score of 7-1 they have beaten Sweden and with a score of 6-1 they have beaten Spain.

Uruguay only won 1 match against Sweden with a 3-2 score and drew against Spain with a 1-1 score. This meant that the final match was considered as a Final since the winner would gain the most points of the 4 countries (remember that the mini league format was implemented). And the country with the most points would win the 1950 World Cup! You could practically count on 1 hand the people who actually thought Uruguay would stand a chance against the great Brazil in the last 1950 World Cup match. The press and the people already claimed Brazil as the 1950 World Cup winner days before the final match. On the 16th of July 1950, in Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, the final match between Uruguay and Brazil would finally start. Before the match a carnaval was already organised and people were already celebrating in the streets. A record attendance of around 205.000 people was watching the match live in a fully packed Estádio do Maracanã. Obviously there was no emphasis on health and safety regulations. During the match the celebrations continued non-stop.

In the first half no goals were scored but Brazil was in the attack mode whereas Uruguay chose the defense mode. The 2nd half however, changed everything. Within 3 minutes after the 2nd half started, the first goal (47′) was scored by Brazilian Friaça. Brazil was expecting a goal and everybody thought it would only be a matter of time before Brazil would receive the World Cup trophy. However 19 minutes later, Uruguayan player Juan Alberto Schiaffino changed the match by changing the score into 1-1 (66′). Even with this 1-1 score Brazil would still win the World Cup! This means they only had to hang on till the end of the match. What happened next is considered as 1 of the biggest World Cup upsets ever in history. Something that would be named in the future: Maracanazo (Maracanaço in Portuguese). Nobody was expecting what was about to happen in the 79th minute of the match. The fully packed Maracanã become completely silent with only laughter and screaming coming from the Uruguayan side.

In the 79th minute Uruguayan player Alcides Ghiggia made the 3rd and final goal of the match, resulting in a final score of 2-1. Alcides Ghiggia silencing the Maracanã stadium: 2-1 This score shocked Brazil beyond comprehension. The nation became immensely traumatized by this defeat. The loss of the final match resulted in some ugly happenings. Few fans have committed suicide, sports journalists retired and newspapers refused the defeat. The Brazilian players were criticized immensely by the public. A few players entered retirement quietly and some never entered the Brazilian selection again such as keeper Barbosa. Brazil even changed its national uniform, which was from then on considered to be a jinx. The original uniform which was white with a blue neckline, changed to the now so famous yellow uniform with a green neckline. Goalkeeper Barbosa was blamed for the defeat, which hunted him till the day he died Jules Rimet the FIFA president also expected for Brazil to win, so he practiced his speech in Portuguese. When the moment was there to handover the Jules Rimet trophy to Uruguayan player Varela, there was no ceremony speech.

There were even 22 gold medals created with the names of the Brazilian players imprinted on them, but they had to be disposed of. Jules Rimet like everyone else, was not expecting to hand out the trophy to the Uruguayan team This Final introduced the term Maracanazo. This term means a victory of the underdog in the Maracanã stadium against the Brazilian national team or 1 of the big four Rio de Janeiro football clubs (Flamengo, Vasco da Gama, Fluminense, Botafogo). Regarding Uruguay, it has been said that the following words stated by the Uruguayan team captain Valera contributed highly to the mind-set that was needed to win the final match: “Muchachos, los de afuera son de palo. Que empiece la función” (Boys, outsiders don’t play. Let’s start the show).

Alcides Ghiggia who scored the 2-1 stated the following after the Final: “Only three people have ever silenced 200,000 people at the Maracanã with a single gesture: Frank Sinatra, Pope John Paul II and I.” Alcides Ghiggia This was the last time so far Uruguay played a World Cup Final. Brazil however would show the world many years later who is the world’s best. The question many people and especially Brazilians now ask themselves: Will Brazil be able to get rid of the ghost of 1950 this year? Will they be finally able to have their revenge in the 2014 World Cup? Where the World Cup Final will be played in the Estádio do Maracanã once again?

Uruguay = Blue (Coach: Juan López Fontana) Brazil = White (Coach: Flávio Costa) World Cup 1950 Records First time England qualified for a World Cup Uruguay is the 2nd country to win 2 World Cups Only World Cup together with the 1930 World Cup which didn’t host a match for the third place This World cup and the 1958 World Cup are the only tournaments where the host country made it to the Final, but failed to win Uruguyuan Alcide Ghiggia is the 2nd player to have scored in each World Cup match including the Final Only World Cup to have implemented the mini league format in the Final Round Only World Cup where no knock-out matches were played First World Cup where no players were sent off Italy is the first country which didn’t make it to the 2nd round after having won the previous World Cup 2nd World Cup where no extra-time matches have been played The average attendance record of 61,000 per match was only beaten in the 1994 World Cup (69,000) The highest attendance for a World Cup match was the Final between Brazil and Uruguay with around 205

 000 attendees (no emphasis on health and safety), which will probably never be beaten India is the only country which has qualified for a World Cup, but has never played any World Cup matches so far Did You Know No Asian or African country participated United States would only qualify for their next World Cup in 1990 Bolivia would only qualify for their next World Cup in 1994 India have not had the chance so far since the 1950 World Cup to participate in another World Cup First World Cup where the players’ jerseys featured back numbers, however no teams had fixed numbers for each player (that would only be mandatory from the next World Cup in 1954), so the players were ordered by name The World Cup trophy was for the first time referred as the Jules Rimet Trophy to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Rimet’s presidency of FIFA Only 2 players (Erik Nilsson of Sweden and Alfred Bickel of Switzerland) played in a World Cup before (1938) and after (1950) World War II First time Yugoslavia played as Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Superball Duplo T match ball was made by a local supplier in Brazil Superball Duplo T match

 ball is the first ball which did not have any sewing with lace since it could be inflated due to the inclusion of a valve Superball Duplo T match ball is the last World Cup ball to contain 12 panels World Cup 1950 FIFA Awards Golden Ball: Zizinho (Brazil) Silver Ball: Juan Schiaffino (Uruguay) Bronze Ball: Ademir (Brazil) Golden Boot: Ademir (Brazil) (8 goals) Silver Boot: Óscar Míguez (Uruguay) (5 goals) Bronze Boot: Alcides Ghiggia (Uruguay), Chico (Brazil), Estanislao Basora (Spain), Telmo Zarra (Spain) (4 goals) Zizinho (Brazil) Walter Bahr (Soccer Player) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News 1927 Birth Born on April 1, 1927.

TWENTIES 1948 21 Years Old After participating in the 1948 Summer Olympics, Bahr turned professional and helped his club win ASL titles in 1950, 1951, 1953, and 1955. … Read More He then switched to the Uhrik Truckers, another team in the Philadelphia area, and won the ASL title in 1956. However, "professional" soccer players at that time made little money and Bahr also was a high school teacher during his playing years. In the late 1960s and through the 70's Bahr was a Physical Education teacher at Frankford High School in Philadelphia. He also coached the soccer team. Read Less 1949 22 Years Old Additionally, he was selected to the U.S. national team in 1949 and appeared in 19 games, with one goal. over his international career during a time when the team played only a few games a year.

1950 23 Years Old In the 1950 upset of the English team, Bahr supplied the pass that Joe Gaetjens headed in for the winning goal. … Read More The entire team was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1976.<br /><br /> In January 2004, Bahr and the four other living members of the 1950 World Cup Team (Frank Borghi, Harry Keough, Gino Pariani and John Souza) were recognized as Honorary All-Americans by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America at its annual convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.<br /><br /> After his retirement as a player, Bahr became a successful soccer coach, leading the Philadelphia Spartans and the Philadelphia Ukrainians of the American Soccer League (ASL). As a teacher at Frankford High School, in Philadelphia, he coached the soccer team. When legendary soccer coach Pete Leaness retired from Temple University, Walt Bahr was named Temple's new coach. From Temple, he moved to Penn State. During his 14-year tenure at Penn State, the team was selected to the NCAA Tournament 12 times.

Read Less FIFTIES 1979 52 Years Old He was NSCAA Coach of the Year in 1979 and elected to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame in 1995. … Read More His overall coaching record is 448 wins, 137 losses, and 70 draws.<br /><br /> Bahr's three sons Casey, Chris, and Matt, all played professional soccer in the defunct North American Soccer League. Casey and Chris also played for the U.S. Olympic team, and Chris and Matt later became field goal placekickers in the National Football League,each earning two Super Bowl rings. Bahr's daughter Davies Ann was an All-American gymnast. Bahr is retired and lives in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, near Penn State, occasionally appearing as a sports commentator for Penn State soccer matches.

Read Less LATE ADULTHOOD 2005 78 Years Old Bahr was portrayed by Wes Bentley in the 2005 movie The Game of Their Lives, which has been distributed in DVD under the title "Miracle Match." 2009 82 Years Old Bahr was featured in the 2009 soccer documentary A Time for Champions discussing the U.S. upset victory over England in the 1950 World Cup. 2015 88 Years Old … Walter Alfred Bahr (born April 1, 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a retired American soccer player, considered one of the greatest ever in his country. He was the long-time captain of the U.S. national team and played in the 1950 FIFA World Cup when the U.S. defeated England 1 -, in what is considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history. Read Less As of February 2, 2015, Bahr is the sole surviving member of the 1950 squad.

… Read More Bahr, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began playing soccer at the age of 11 and joined the Philadelphia Nationals of the professional American Soccer League as an amateur player. His talent was obvious and he was paid a great compliment during the Scottish national team tour of the U.S. in 1949 by former Scottish international Tommy Muirhead, who wrote in the Glasgow Daily Mail, "Bahr is good enough to play for any First Division team in the United Kingdom." Read Less Original Authors of this text are noted on .

Question: Which country defeated England 1-0 on 29th June in the 1950 FIFA World Cup ?
Answer: USA